Cards 20-29: Bonaventura - Cosmas & Damian - Voices of the Saints
Cards 20-29: Bonaventura - Cosmas & Damian
- Voices of the Saints
Cards 20-29: Bonaventura - Cosmas & Damian
Cards 30-39: Cyrus - Francis of Paola
Cards 40-49: Francis Xavier - Joachim
Cards 50-59: Joan of Arc - Mark
Cards 60-69: Margaret Alaoque - Peter
Cards 70-78 : Philip Benizi - Zita
Voices of the Saints: Keyword Guide
Transversal Theology: Technical Glossary
20. Saint Bonaventura Ep. Doct. (13th-cent. Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: July 15
Saint Bonaventure: Healed from a childhood disease through the prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi. Bonaventure joined the Order of Friars Minor at age 22. Studied theology and philosophy in Paris, France, and later taught there. Friend of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Doctor of Theology, bishop, and cardinal. Wrote commentaries on the Scriptures, text-books in theology and philosophy, and a biography of Saint Francis. Doctor of the Church. Pope Clement IV chose him to be Archbishop of York, England, but Bonaventure begged off, claiming to be inadequate to the office. Spoke at the Council of Lyons, but died before its close.
Patronage
Against intestinal problems
Archetypology
Saint Bonaventure represents an investment in intellectual tradition. His friendship with Thomas Aquinas signifies this. Aquinas was a major proponent of the new thinking of Aristotelianism of the time, while Bonaventure followed the more traditional Platonism. Aquinas is regarded as a philosopher and theologian, and therefore citable by secular philosophers today. However, Bonaventure is so centered on theology that he transitions poorly to today's secular intellectual tradition despite his brilliance. Bonventure represents the wisdom of the past applied to the present and a deep respect for valuable things that may have been forgotten.
Visual Symbology
In the image Saint Bonaventure takes the center and is robed in ornate vestments, symbolizing the richness of tradition. His halo is equally ornate presenting a repeating pattern of crosses with dots at each angle, representing the ancient wisdom from the four corners of the earth. He clutches a book in his right hand close to his abdomen and his left hand covers his heart. These gestures signify his deep regard for ancient learning and his desire to apply it to his life.
Application
When Saint Bonaventure makes an appearance it bodes well to contemplate and apply ancient wisdom, even if it seems to be “outdated”. Because of his philosophical leanings, it may also be a time to look to the spiritual abstract as opposed to the physical realm. In reverse Saint Bonaventure could be a call to be more pragmatic or scientific in one’s approach. It could also be an invitation to dabble in novel creativity.
21. Saint Cecilia V. M. (3rd-cent. Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: November 22
Saint Cecilia: Cultivated young patrician woman whose ancestors loomed large in Rome’s history. She vowed her virginity to God, but her parents married her to Valerian of Trastevere. Cecilia told her new husband that she was accompanied by an angel, but in order to see it, he must be purified. He agreed to the purification, and was baptized; returning from the ceremony, he found her in prayer accompanied by a praying angel. The angel placed a crown on each of their heads, and offered Valerian a favor; the new convert asked that his brother be baptized.
The two brothers developed a ministry of giving proper burial to martyred Christians. In their turn, they were arrested and martyred for their faith. Cecilia buried them at her villa on the Apprian Way, and was arrested for the action. She was ordered to sacrifice to false gods; when she refused, she was martyred in her turn, suffocated for a while, and when that didn’t kill her, she was beheaded
The Acta of Cecilia includes the following: “While the profane music of her wedding was heard, Cecilia was singing in her heart a hymn of love for Jesus, her true spouse.” It was this phrase that led to her association with music, singers, musicians, etc.
Patronage
bodily purity
composers
luthiers
martyrs
music
musicians
musical instrument makers
poets
singers
Archetypology
Saint Cecilia is best known as a musical muse, but her hagiography points to a deeper meaning. Her story is one that revolves around the acceptance of death and passing. Her virginity itself (even in marriage) speaks to a lack of life, given life is created by sexual activity. But the true indicator is the ministry she brings her husband and brother-in-law into, the corporal work of mercy burying the dead. They are martyred for their ministry and when she, in turn, buries them she is martyred. Her life revolves around a lack of generation and putting to rest things that are dead.
Visual Symbology
The card shows Saint Cecilia standing in a field with various instruments, drums, a triangle, and a violin, lay on the ground surrounding her and she holds a pan flute with both hands. She is richly dressed and her face looks contemplative and serene. The image evokes her choice of musical investment at her marriage and brings to mind her patronage of music in the most peaceful form.
Application
Saint Cecilia could indicate peaceful passive contemplation, either by the serenity brought by listening to music, or her association with acceptance of death. In reverse, Saint Cecilia could indicate the active playing of music, the communal “orchestration” that it entails, and the ability it has to affect others. Or she could indicate the need for remembrance of things that have passed.
22. Saint Camillus de Lellis Conf. (16th-cent Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: July 14
Saint Camillus de Lellis: Son of a military officer who had served both for Naples and France. His mother died when Camillus was very young. He spent his youth as a soldier, fighting for the Venetians against the Turks, and then for Naples. Reported as a large individual and powerfully built, but he suffered all his life from abscesses on his feet. A gambling addict, he lost so much he had to take a job working construction on a building belonging to the Capuchins; they converted him.
Camillus entered the Capuchin novitiate three times, but a nagging leg injury, received while fighting the Turks, each time forced him to give it up. He went to Rome, Italy for medical treatment where Saint Philip Neri became his priest and confessor. He moved into San Giacomo Hospital for the incurable, and eventually became its administrator. Lacking education, he began to study with children when he was 32 years old. Priest. Founded the Congregation of the Servants of the Sick (the Camillians or Fathers of a Good Death) who, naturally, care for the sick both in hospital and home. The Order expanded with houses in several countries. Camillus honored the sick as living images of Christ and hoped that the service he gave them did penance for his wayward youth. Reported to have the gifts of miraculous healing and prophecy.
Patronage
against bodily ills
against illness
against sickness
hospitals
hospital workers
sick people
Archetypology
Above all Saint Camillus represents struggle. From his military career to his struggle with his injury, to his struggle with a gambling addiction, to his struggle with education, to his dedication to those struggling with illness, the struggles he meets are those of the deepest human form. His ability to compassionately meet Christ in those suffering illness is born out of his own struggles in life. He represents those who struggle and turn their struggles into good for others who are experiencing hardship.
Visual Symbology
In the image, Saint Camillus stands in a hospital. There is a window in the background letting in natural light. There are patients in the back occupying beds who gaze upon Saint Camillus. He stands clad in the black garb of the Fathers of a Good Death holding the hand of an infirmed man. The man’s head and foot are bandaged. If one looks closely at the infirmed man one will notice that his face closely resembles the face of Jesus as you would expect to see it in this type of art. This picture very much points the observer to find the good in struggle and suffering without denying that the suffering itself is real.
Application
If a querent meets Saint Camillus in a reading one is being drawn to concentration on struggle, especially the struggle of illness. One’s meditation should revolve around how one uses struggle to find meaning or even enlightenment. It could also call to mind how one uses aiding in the struggles of others to reach insight. In reverse, this card evokes the void of struggle or feelings of Sisyphean struggle. Or it could lead one ot consider passive or contemplative joy.
23. Saint Carolus Boorromaeus Ep. (16th-cent Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: November 4
Saint Charles Borromeo: Born to a wealthy, noble family, the third of six children, son of Count Giberto II Borromeo and Margherita de’ Medici. Civil and canon lawyer at age 21. He had an illustrious clerical and civil career. Helped re-open the Council of Trent, and participated in its sessions. Worked on the revision of the Missal and Breviary. Member of a commission to reform church music.
As protector of the Swiss Catholic cantons; he visited them all several times worked for the spiritual reform of both clergy and laymen. Due to his enforcement of strict ecclesiastical discipline, some disgruntled monks in the Order of the Humiliati hired a lay brother to murder him; he was shot at but was not hit. Worked with the sick, and helped bury the dead during the plague outbreak in Milan.
Saint Charles spent his life and fortune in the service of the people of his diocese. He founded schools for the poor, seminaries for clerics, hospitals for the sick, conducted synods, instituted children‘s Sunday school, did great public and private penance, and worked among the sick and dying, leading his people by example.
Patronage
against abdominal pain
against colic
against intestinal disorders
against stomach diseases
against ulcers
apple orchards
bishops
catechists
catechumens
seminarians
spiritual directors
spiritual leaders
starch makers
Archetypology
Saint Charles Borromeo represents privilege used well. He had every advantage of life offered to him and used this advantage to secure an influential clerical career. He represents a hierarchical church that works closely with worldly powers to influence society. At the same time, he uses his position to better the position of the most vulnerable and taught humility by example. He represents an unexpected ally to someone in need.
Visual Symbology
The card displays a courtyard bustling with charitable action. Given there are men carrying a stretcher walking the veranda, it seems to be during the plague in Milan. The presentation of Saint Charles Borromeo in a courtyard signifies his working within a complex system of action. Saint Charles Borromeo himself stands ornately and lavishly vested and holding a crucifix in his right hand. He looks passionately, yet serenely, upon a beggar, extending his hand in blessing. The beggar stands in contrast to Saint Charles Borromeo. Dressed in plain clothes he sits upon a mat gesturing to an empty begging bowl. His earnest face is accented by a shaggy beard. This scene demonstrates the contrast between the exchange one would expect between these two people and the relationship that Saint Charles Borromeo actually had with the poor. Though aristocrats stereotypically look down upon the “commoner”, Saint Charles Borromeo saw them as worthy of help and did his best to offer that in his own way.
Application
The appearance of Saint Charles Borromeo signifies unexpected help, especially from someone presumed to be “to good” to help out. This card helps the querent focus on their own judgments concerning people and helps the querent remember that prideful judgments of other peoples prideful ways can be detrimental. In reverse, this card evokes privilege taken and abused for selfish ends. It could also summon contemplation on those left behind by the structure of society.
24. Saint Catarina V. M. (4th-cent. Egypt)
Hagiography
Feast: November 25
Saint Catherine of Alexandria: Born to the nobility. Learned in science and oratory. Converted to Christianity after receiving a vision. When she was 18 years old, during the persecution of Maximinus, she offered to debate the pagan philosophers. Many were converted by her arguments and immediately martyred. Maximinus had her scourged and imprisoned. The empress and the leader of the army of Maximinus were amazed by the stories, went to see Catherine in prison. They converted and were martyred. Maximinus ordered her broken on the wheel, but she touched it and the wheel was destroyed. She was beheaded, and her body whisked away by angels.
Immensely popular during the Middle Ages, there were many chapels and churches devoted to her throughout western Europe, and she was reported as one of the divine advisors to Saint Joan of Arc. Her reputation for learning and wisdom led to her patronage of libraries, librarians, teachers, archivists, and anyone associated with wisdom or teaching. Her debating skill and persuasive language has led to her patronage of lawyers. And her torture on the wheel led to those who work with them asking for her intercession. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
Patronage
apologists
craftsmen who work with a wheel (potters, spinners, etc.)
archivists
attornies
barristers
dying people
educators
girls
Jurists
knife sharpeners
lawyers
librarians
libraries
mechanics
millers
nurses
old maids
philosophers
Preachers
Scholars
scribes
secretaries
spinsters
stenographers
students
tanners
teachers
theologians
turners
unmarried girls
Wheelwrights
Archetypology
Saint Catherine of Alexandria represents the destructive. Her mark can either be the destructive end of a course run well, such as the repeated conversion and immediate martyrdom of those she encounters, or the destructive end representative of a destructive existence, such as the destruction of the torture wheel. She can also represent learning and education, but even here only in as much as they remind one of impending exterminations.
Visual Symbology
In the image, Saint Catherine stands in a natural setting richly dressed as a noblewoman donning a crown. She holds a quill in her right hand and leans on the torture wheel with her left. The quill is raised to write, but whatever knowledge is written will only bring one back to the existential knowledge of annihilation.
Application
To encounter Saint Catherine of Alexandria is to encounter one’s own mortality. Each Saint met in this deck, no matter how holy ran a course and met their end. Saint Catherine reminds the querent of this hard fact. Even though there is the hope of resurrection, death itself is one of our primary motivators here on this earth, so Saint Catherine is a card that demands an accounting of one’s life. In reverse Saint Catherine of Alexandria begs the querent to look for second chances. Or one could use this card as a motivator to truly invest in what time one has.
25. Saint Catarina Senensis V. (14th-cent. Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: April 29
Saint Catherine of Siena: Youngest of 24 children; her father was a wool-dyer. At the age of seven, she had a vision in which Jesus appeared with Peter, Paul, and John; Jesus blessed her, and she consecrated herself to Him. Her parents began making arranged marriages for her when she turned 12, but she refused to co-operate, became a Dominican tertiary at age 15, and spent her time working with the poor and sick, attracting others to work with her. Received a vision in which she was in a mystical marriage with Christ, and the Infant Christ presented her with a wedding ring. In another vision she exchanged hearts with Christ. Some of her visions drove her to become more involved in public life. Counselor to and correspondent with Pope Gregory XI and Pope Urban VI during the western schism. She did not fear to criticize popes, nor was she afraid to call out high officials in pursuit of unity. Stigmatist in 1375. Proclaimed Doctor of the Church on 4 October 1970.
Patronage
against fire
against illness
against miscarriages
against sexual temptation
against sickness
against temptations
firefighters
nurses
people ridiculed for their piety
sick people
Archetypology
Saint Catherine of Siena shows us a mystic and a negotiator. She represents one who, when all formal and organized power structures are failing, can call on a deep charism of love and communion to seek unity. She presents a character who can recognize and work with the power structures of this world, yet simultaneously point to the fundamental power of God over these structures.
Visual Symbology
On this card, Saint Catherine of Siena stands in front of a window looking out over the hazy city of Siena. To her right (outside the window) is what looks like a dead tree shaped like a cross. It has some growth, possibly a vine stretched across its branches. This tree could represent the church’s poor state of schism, and the growth is Catherine’s desire to work with the structure and heal the church. Saint Catherine of Siena faces the observer. She stands with her eyes gazing low. She holds a lily as a sign of purity, her focused goal as a tireless worker for unity. She also holds a book, but it is mostly tucked in her robes. This is a sign of her mystical knowledge, which she writes about as a doctor of the church, but which is experiential and therefore fundamentally hidden in her person.
Application
Saint Catherine of Siena has two possible applications. First, she beckons the querent to peacemaking and healing rivalries, even if that means speaking truth to power. Second, she points to the rivalry between man and the Ultimate, seeks healing there by mystical union (symbolized by mystical marriage and the exchange of hearts). A querent might do well to pay attention to their intuitive sense of “being” with the ultimate. In reverse Saint Catherine of Siena is indicative of the problems that arise when power structures cannot function as a community. A reversal here may also indicate a “dark night of the soul” where one lacks existential motivation and therefore must rely on discipline as opposed to intuition.
26. Christophorus M. (3rd-cent. Turkey)
Hagiography
Feast: July 25th
Saint Christopher: Third century martyr in the persecutions of Decius. His fame derives from the pious legend of him being a “Christ-bearer” (= Christopher). He was a powerfully built man who wandered the world in search of novelty and adventure. He came upon a hermit who lived beside a dangerous stream and served others by guiding them to safe places to cross. He gave Offero instruction in the truth of God. Offero took the hermit‘s place, but instead of guiding travelers, he carried them safely across the stream.
One day he carried a small child across the stream; the child‘s weight nearly crushed him. When they arrived on the other side, the child revealed himself as Christ, and he was so heavy because he bore the weight of the world on himself. He then baptized Offero with water from the stream. Christopher’s service at the stream led to his patronage of things related to travel and travelers, people who carry things, etc. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
Patronage
against bad dreams
against epilepsy
against floods
against hailstorms
against lightning
against pestilence
against storms
against sudden death
against toothache
Air Forces
archers
automobile drivers
bachelors
boatmen
bookbinders
epileptics
fruit dealers
fullers
gardeners
holy death
market carriers
mountain climbers
porters
relief from pestilence
travelers
Archetypology
Saint Christopher is the “Christain Atlas”, who bears the weight of the world on his shoulders, yet in the Christan version, no one does it alone. At the very least Christ is present and is actually carrying the weight. Then Christ takes the weight off of Christopher with baptism. Saint Christopher represents one who seeks to carry it all by sheer strength and finds out that no mere human can bear that weight. In this case, the obstacle becomes the sanctification (just like the cross itself) as Saint Christopher is baptized in the very river that he navigates day in and day out.
Visual Symbology
The card shows Saint Christopher reaching the far shore with one foot in the water and one foot on the ground. This stance is often one that evokes a person who is in touch with both the conscious and unconscious aspects of himself, both the rational and the intuitive. In the background is a mountain with a church atop, signifying celestial knowledge and enlightenment. For Saint Christopher, this knowledge is an awareness of the power of Christ to bear the sins of the world, and the relief of baptism, which washes its guilt. Saint Christopher holds a staff as a symbol of his own power, but his face is turned to his other arm where he supports the Christ child, who has become his new strength.
Application
Not surprisingly Saint Christopher represents transitions, therefore the querent would be wise to notice the motions of their life when he shows up. These could be physical, like the crossing of the river, or spiritual, like Saint Christopher’s own spiritual changes through his story. In reverse Saint Christopher could call to mind either detrimental stagnation or peaceful contentment.
27. Saint Clara V. (12th-cent. Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: August 11
Saint Clare of Assisi: Clare’s father was a count, her mother the countess Blessed Orsolana. Her father died when the girl was very young. After hearing Saint Francis of Assisi preach in the streets, Clare confided to him her desire to live for God, and the two became close friends. On Palm Sunday in 1212, her bishop presented Clare with a palm, which she apparently took as a sign. With her cousin Pacifica, Clare ran away from her mother‘s palace during the night to enter religious life. She eventually took the veil from Saint Francis at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Italy.
Clare founded the Order of Poor Ladies (Poor Clares) at San Damiano, and led it for 40 years. Everywhere the Franciscans established themselves throughout Europe, there also went the Poor Clares, depending solely on alms, forced to have complete faith on God to provide through people; this lack of land-based revenues was a new idea at the time. Clare’s mother and sisters later joined the order, and there are still thousands of members living lives of silence and prayer.
Clare loved music and well-composed sermons. She was humble, merciful, charming, optimistic, chivalrous, and every day she meditated on the Passion of Jesus. She would get up late at night to tuck in her sisters who’d kicked off their blankets. When she learned of the Franciscan martyrs in Morocco in 1221, she tried to go there to give her own life for God but was restrained. Once when her convent was about to be attacked, she displayed the Sacrament in a monstrance at the convent gates, and prayed before it; the attackers left, the house was saved, and the image of her holding a monstrance became one of her emblems. Her patronage of eyes and against their problems may have developed from her name which has overtones from clearness, brightness, brilliance – like healthy eyes.
Toward the end of her life, when she was too ill to attend Mass, an image of the service would display on the wall of her cell; thus her patronage of television. She was ever the close friend and spiritual student of Francis, who apparently led her soul into the light at her death.
Patronage
against eye disease
embroiderers
eyes
for good weather
gilders
goldsmiths
laundry workers
needle workers
telegraphs
telephones
television
television writers
Archetypology
Saint Clare shows passivity triumphing over aggression. Her parents sought a life of engagement in the intrigue of nobility, but Saint Clare’s response was to flee to a mendicant cloister where she did not even have means of an income. When she desired to go to the foreign missions her stance remained stability and passivity. Most dramatically when her monastery is besieged by Fredrick II her response is not to hire a mercenary force or even to negotiate, but simply to present herself as the contemplative before the monstrance. Toward the end of her life, she cannot even attend mass, so the ritual is miraculously presented to her vis tele-vision. Saint Clare is a powerful woman. The first to write a rule for an order, she continually fought male authorities and maintained her power, but usually to the end of keeping strict poverty.
Visual Symbology
The card depicts the siege of Fredrick II. Armored soldiers have raised and are mounting siege ladders upon the walls of the monastery. Saint Clare stands upon the parapet holding a monstrance aloft which shines with divine radiance. Her face is calm and she is the picture of still quietude. This contrasts the two nuns behind her to the right. Their faces demonstrate anxiety at the terrors of war. To her left, the soldiers fall back stricken with fear of the sacrament. All of this shows the terror of the action of war and the passive but effective resistance of Saint Clare as she relies not on her own strength, but that of God.
Application
When encountering Saint Clare in a reading the principle of passivity should be contemplated. If there are forces arrayed against the querent could passivity be the answer? Given how much Saint Clare struggled to retain control of her order this card could also be a sign of needing to fight for one’s ability to be passive, remain neutral or rest. In reverse, this card looks to action at engagement as the path to take.
28. Bl. Cantardus Conf. (13th-cent. Italy)
Hagiography
Feast: April 16
Blessed Contardo de Este: Eldest son in a family of Italian nobility, he gave up wealth and the world for piety and poverty and died while on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Legend says that at his death all the local church bells began to ring, and flames were seen to flicker around his body to indicate his holiness.
Archetypology
Blessed Contardo is one who gave up the obvious path and took the path of simplicity toward a destination he will never reach. He symbolizes the act of traveling as a good itself, especially in the simplicity that it forces upon the traveler. The holiness of this is testified by the miraculous events that followed his death. Both Blessed Contardo and Saint Roch queue into the archetypology and visual symbolism of The Fool in the standard Tarot deck.
Visual Symbology
In the image, Blessed Contardo is seen on a path in rural Spain. He holds a staff in his hand and his hat is slung across his back, looking much like The Fool in the traditional Tarot deck. This similarity is heightened by the crown and dagger set at his feet reminding the observer that he has given up luxury and protection to live a simple life of open travel. On his shoulder, there is a shell, a sign of one who travels the Camino de Santiago.
Application
Blessed Contardo begs the querent to take joy in the act of transition or travel. The thrill of being free of burden and on a journey is brought to mind as one sees Blessed Contardo’s state. But unlike Christopher, the strength to complete the journey or the destination are not the focus, but the state of transition itself. In reverse, Blessed Contardo offers the querent the opportunity to contemplate the joy of the comforts of home or of reaching a goal long journey toward.
29. Saints Cosmas and Damianus M.M. (4th-cent. Syria)
Hagiography
Feast: September 26
Saints Cosmas and Damian: Twin brothers. Physicians, trained in Syria; the brothers accepted no payment for their services, and their charity brought many to Christ. Reported to have miraculously replaced the ulcerated leg of a man named Justinian with one from a recently deceased man. Arrested during the persecutions of Diocletian, they were tortured but suffered no injury. Martyrs. Many fables grew up about the brothers, connected in part with the ability of their relics to heal.
Patronages
against blindness
against pestilence
apothecaries
barbers
blind people
chemical industry
chemical manufacturers
doctors
druggists
hairdressers
hernias
midwives
physicians
pharmacists
relief from pestilence
Surgeons
Archetypology
This card is one of two in the Voices of Saints deck that is a dyad. In this case, the dyad is a fraternal one, a dyad of twin brothers. Tempting as it may be to focus mainly on their scientific ability to heal, the next card, Saint Cyrus, is also a medical doctor. The strength of Cosmas and Damian lays in their fraternity. They are never mentioned or venerated apart and their bond represents the communal and familial aspect of bringing healing.
Visual Symbology
Cosmas and Damian stand on each side of the card, dressed as ancient Doctors, and wearing amulets signifying their status. They each hold a palm in their right hands a sign of martyrdom and tools of their trade in their left hands. Their faces are identically peaceful and childlike. Above them floats a dove with a triangle behind it radiating divine light. The dove signifies the Holy Spirit and the triangle signifies the trinity, the self communal nature of God. In that communion, the Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son that makes them one. This same love is what allowed the son to become incarnate in the Virgin and become related to humanity. Now that spirit radiates out toward the two brothers demonstrating a fraternal bond which they use to bring healing to any who are in need.
Application
Cosmas and Damian offer a call to check in on familial relationships. Is one utilizing the strengths and harmony in the family to make the world a better place? Can one draw on familial support to realize one’s vocation? Is one sharing meaning and healing with members of one’s family? In reverse, this card can symbolize the breakdown of valuable familial structures of support.
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